New business makes waves

Sporty, outgoing and sociable, Ricky Geltch, Dylan Street and Nathan Dreghorn could be your typical 22-year-olds searching for the next party.

However, these three business-savvy locals are hunting for the perfect office space to support their rapidly successful advertising and web-design business.

The three born-and-bred Sunshine Coasters, who have all grown up together, started their own business six months ago and have nurtured it to the stage where the client base could challenge any similar city-based company.

The business is called Wayy and it aims to provide advertising to companies through the use of visual markets such as corporate branding, brochures, business cards, print advertising and website designs.

However, Wayy is certainly not your typical advertising firm, with these three mates opting for joint morning sessions in the surf and business meetings at the local bar and grill – mixing business with pleasure, while reaping the profits.

The morning surf was a ritual for these three lads long before Wayy came about.

Ricky, Dylan and Nathan all used to hit the waves together before high school and continued the practice into their university and TAFE days.

Ricky and Dylan attended Immanuel Lutheran College and then both did the same degree, Computer-Based Art and Design, at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The two agree they cemented their friendship at Immanuel.

“We were always together,” Dylan said. “We were in the same home-room, spent every day with each other on a one-month school camp and then studied together for our Year 12 finals.

“Then while we were at the University of the Sunshine Coast, it was Ricky who really put his head down and concentrated on the idea and happenings of the business.”

Ricky said that he always wanted to start his own business but as he was more focused on creative web designs, he lacked the expertise of a graphic designer.

That is where Dylan and Nathan came in, as both showed talent in their graphic design studies and could offer loads of innovative ideas to help Ricky achieve his business dream.

Ricky said that he had started the groundwork for the business while in his second year at university. About eight months later, he had an office, a business name and all the necessary equipment to forge ahead. However, Ricky didn’t want to have Dylan and Nathan as simply his employees, so he went one step further and invited them to become his business partners – sharing the profits and decision-making.

Nathan believes that because they are partners, all three are motivated individually to search for more creative ideas and avenues to grow the business.

But qualifications and motivation aren’t the only keys to their success. Their unique personalities also play a part.

Nathan is seen as the funny and approachable guy, while Dylan opts for the laidback yet friendly attitude, and Ricky is the driven and focused one of the group.

They believe their different personalities are what gives Wayy’s products such an innovative, fun and professional touch.

“The key to our success is how we all work together so well because of our different personalities,” Dylan said.

“It gives us individual roles within the business, whilst providing us with a positive attitude.”

But in the end, they’re still just normal 20-somethings. “We like nothing more than after a hard week’s work than to relax with a few beers, listen to our favourite bands and, of course, wake up on Saturday morning with a huge surf,” Nathan admitted.